Castlevania SOTN is an ill-conceived fossil of mediocrity
29th January 2024, 7:41 AM
By your mention of "quick save" I'm assuming you're playing something other than the PS1 version, since that was a feature I THINK was added in the latest modern console ports.
In any case, I think that there may have been a miscommunication here. This is what the industry has decided to call a "Metroidvania", the first time the Castlevania series went in that direction. The idea behind it is to have a single massive map full of secrets and obstacles that require finding new powerups to overcome. All the Metroid games play this way, for example. You have one life, maintained by finding save points dotted throughout that map. Healing in SOTN is done through the save points themselves, though yes, limited healing items are also available. It's a risk/reward setup, wherein you can try to keep pushing forward or make a little progress, then head back to the save point to heal up before heading out again. Metroid games all do the same, and up until Zero Mission they didn't even do the courtesy of healing at save points, instead having dedicated "healing" and "ammo" rooms that also had to be found.
I'm sorry if this all comes across pretty obvious, it just seems from your review that the sub-genre is rather new to you.
In any case, I think that there may have been a miscommunication here. This is what the industry has decided to call a "Metroidvania", the first time the Castlevania series went in that direction. The idea behind it is to have a single massive map full of secrets and obstacles that require finding new powerups to overcome. All the Metroid games play this way, for example. You have one life, maintained by finding save points dotted throughout that map. Healing in SOTN is done through the save points themselves, though yes, limited healing items are also available. It's a risk/reward setup, wherein you can try to keep pushing forward or make a little progress, then head back to the save point to heal up before heading out again. Metroid games all do the same, and up until Zero Mission they didn't even do the courtesy of healing at save points, instead having dedicated "healing" and "ammo" rooms that also had to be found.
I'm sorry if this all comes across pretty obvious, it just seems from your review that the sub-genre is rather new to you.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)